| CHAPTER I |
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| PAGE |
| Damascus—Haurân Railway—Great Moslem pilgrimage—The plainsof Damascus—Great Hermon—El-Kisweh—Bridges in Palestine—Ghabâghib—Es-Sanamein—Medicalmyth—A Land of Fear—Grain-fieldsof Haurân—An oppressed peasantry—Nowa | [ 1] |
| CHAPTER II |
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| Arab courtesy—Sheikh Saʿad—Egyptian monuments—Traditions ofJob—El-Merkez—Religious conservatism—Holy places—SheikhMeskîn—A ride in the dark—Zorʿa—El-Lejâʾ | [ 16] |
| CHAPTER III |
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| A landscape of lava—Deserted cities—Caverns—Cultivation—A landof ruins—The guide’s terror—Damet el-ʿAliâ—The sheikh’swelcome—A state of siege—An ugly incident—Druze hospitality—Araband Druze in el-Lejâʾ—St. Paul in Arabia—The well ofthe priest—Story of the priest | [ 30] |
| CHAPTER IV |
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| Hidden treasure—The Bedawy’s treasure-trove—The sheikh’sfarewell—A savage tract—Jebel ed-Druze—Umm ez-Zeytûn—TellShihân—Shuhba—An ancient house—A stingy entertainer—Theruins—Pharaoh’s “grain-heaps”—The house of Shehâb | [ 48] |
| CHAPTER V |
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| Ride to Kanawât (Kenath)—Impressive situation and remains—Place-namesin Palestine—Israelites and Arabs—Education—Acharming ride through mountain glades—Suweida | [ 63] |
| CHAPTER VI |
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| Healing the sick—A strange monument—Telegraph and post inHaurân—Cruel kindness—The Ruins of Suweida—Turkishmethods of rule—ʿIry—Sheyûkh ed-Druze—Jephthah’s burial—Enterpriseof Ismaʿîl el-ʿAtrash | [ 74] |
| CHAPTER VII |
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| The Druzes—Their religion—Their character—Druze and Jew—Recenthistory in Haurân—Druze and Bedawy—War | [ 86] |
| CHAPTER VIII |
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| Bozrah—First Syrian mosque—The physician the reconciler—The“House of the Jew”—The great mosque—Cufic inscription—Boheiraand Mohammed—The fortress—Bridal festivities—Featsof horsemanship—History—Origen’s visit—Capture by Moslems | [ 102] |
| CHAPTER IX |
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| Travellers’ troubles—A corner of the desert—The mirage—Dangerouswadies—Lunch in the desert—A “blind” guide—Theclerk to the sheyûkh—A milestone—Kalʿat Esdein—Thirst—Theuplands of Gilead—Search for water—A Bedawy camp—Terrificthunderstorm | [ 117] |
| CHAPTER X |
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| Morning on the mountains—Arab time—Tents and encampments—Thewomen and their work—Arab wealth—Scenes at the wells—Dogs—Arabianhospitality—Desert pests—Strange code ofhonour—The blood feud—Judgment of the elders—Arab andhorse—The Arabs and religion—The Oriental mind—Arab visitto Damascus | [ 129] |
| CHAPTER XI |
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| Ride to Jerash—Magnificent ruins—Circassian colonists—History—Preservationof buildings—East of Jordan—Sûf—A moonlightscene—Down to the Jabbok | [ 145] |
| CHAPTER XII |
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| “Time is money”—Rumamain—Priestly hospitality—Fair mountaingroves—Es-Salt—The springs—Relation to Arabs—Raisins—Descentto the Jordan—Distant view of Jerusalem—View of theriver, the plains of Jordan, the Dead Sea, and the mountainsbeyond—The bridge—The “publican’s” shed—The men fromKerâk | [ 158] |
| CHAPTER XIII |
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| The banks and thickets of the Jordan—Bathing-place—The Greekconvent—A night of adventures in the plains of Jericho—Themodern village—Ancient fertility—Possible restoration—Elisha’sfountain—Wady Kelt—The Mountain of Temptation—Thepath to Zion | [ 169] |